MARCUS DUVESKOG
Digital Storytelling for HIV and AIDS Education in
Africa
Publications of the University of Eastern Finland Dissertations in Forestry and Natural Sciences
No 171
Academic Dissertation
To be presented by permission of the Faculty of Science and Forestry for public examination in the Louhela Auditorium in Joensuu Science Park Building at the University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, on January 29, 2015, at 12 o’clock noon.
School of Computing
Grano Oy Joensuu, 2015
Editors: Research Dir. Pertti Pasanen,
Profs. Pekka Kilpeläinen, Kai Peiponen, and Matti Vornanen
Distribution:
University of Eastern Finland Library / Sales of publications P.O.Box 107, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland
tel. +358-50-3058396 www.uef.fi/kirjasto
ISBN: 978-952-61-1672-3 (printed) ISSNL: 1798-5668
ISSN: 1798-5668
ISBN: 978-952-61-1673-0 (PDF) ISSNL: 1798-5668
ISSN: 1798-5676
80101 JOENSUU FINLAND
email: marcus.duveskog@gmail.com Supervisors: Professor Erkki Sutinen, Ph.D.
University of Eastern Finland School of Computing P.O. Box 111
80101 JOENSUU FINLAND
email: erkki.sutinen@uef.fi Professor Johannes Cronje, Ph.D.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology Informatics and design
P.O. Box 652 Cape Town 8000 SOUTH AFRICA
email: johannes.cronje@gmail.com Reviewers: Bernard R. Robin, Ph.D.
University of Houston 4800 Calhoun Road
Houston, Texas, 77204‐5027 USA
email: brobin@uh.edu
Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Ph.D.
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology Private Mail Bag
University Post Office KNUST - Kumasi GHANA
email: kopokuamankwa@gmail.com Opponent: Professor Isabel Venter, Ph.D.
Department of Computer Science University of the Western Cape Private Bag X17
7535 Bellville SOUTH AFRICA email: iventer@uwc.ac.za
Grano Oy Joensuu, 2015
Editors: Research Dir. Pertti Pasanen,
Profs. Pekka Kilpeläinen, Kai Peiponen, and Matti Vornanen
Distribution:
University of Eastern Finland Library / Sales of publications P.O.Box 107, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland
tel. +358-50-3058396 www.uef.fi/kirjasto
ISBN: 978-952-61-1672-3 (printed) ISSNL: 1798-5668
ISSN: 1798-5668
ISBN: 978-952-61-1673-0 (PDF) ISSNL: 1798-5668
ISSN: 1798-5676
80101 JOENSUU FINLAND
email: marcus.duveskog@gmail.com Supervisors: Professor Erkki Sutinen, Ph.D.
University of Eastern Finland School of Computing P.O. Box 111
80101 JOENSUU FINLAND
email: erkki.sutinen@uef.fi Professor Johannes Cronje, Ph.D.
Cape Peninsula University of Technology Informatics and design
P.O. Box 652 Cape Town 8000 SOUTH AFRICA
email: johannes.cronje@gmail.com Reviewers: Bernard R. Robin, Ph.D.
University of Houston 4800 Calhoun Road
Houston, Texas, 77204‐5027 USA
email: brobin@uh.edu
Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Ph.D.
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology Private Mail Bag
University Post Office KNUST - Kumasi GHANA
email: kopokuamankwa@gmail.com Opponent: Professor Isabel Venter, Ph.D.
Department of Computer Science University of the Western Cape Private Bag X17
7535 Bellville SOUTH AFRICA email: iventer@uwc.ac.za
ABSTRACT
It is possible to design digital learning environments together with children even if, prior to the design project, these children are deemed ICT illiterate. Since 2002 the author has been involved in various projects in which he has been co-designing learning environments with children and youth in different parts of Southern Africa. The research from five different design settings in Tanzania and South Africa has enabled a retrospective analysis in order to identify common characteristics shared by productive design milieux. The research will show the value added by making use of digital storytelling when designing new learning environments for Sub-Saharan Africa, especially when dealing with taboo related topics such as HIV and AIDS. The thesis will highlight the factors that facilitate co-design and will show the advantages of co-designing learning environments with youth from within the context. The research has led to the development of a tool for artefact analysis, a model for evaluating the viability of learning environments and a model for analyzing design milieux that will be presented in the thesis. The thesis will emphasize the possibilities of using digital storytelling to address sensitive and delicate topics such as HIV and AIDS.
Universal Decimal Classification: 004.414.2, 004.415.2, 37.091.33
Library of Congress Subject Headings: System design; Health education;
Digital storytelling; HIV infections; AIDS (Disease); User-centered system design; Educational technology; Computer-assisted instruction;
Cooperation; Developing countries; Children; Africa
Yleinen suomalainen asiasanasto: systeemityö; osallistava suunnittelu;
yhteissuunnittelu; tarinat; kertomukset; oppimisympäristö;
tietokoneavusteinen opetus; terveyskasvatus; HIV-tartunta; AIDS;
kehitysyhteistyö; lapset; nuoret; Afrikka
ABSTRACT
It is possible to design digital learning environments together with children even if, prior to the design project, these children are deemed ICT illiterate. Since 2002 the author has been involved in various projects in which he has been co-designing learning environments with children and youth in different parts of Southern Africa. The research from five different design settings in Tanzania and South Africa has enabled a retrospective analysis in order to identify common characteristics shared by productive design milieux. The research will show the value added by making use of digital storytelling when designing new learning environments for Sub-Saharan Africa, especially when dealing with taboo related topics such as HIV and AIDS. The thesis will highlight the factors that facilitate co-design and will show the advantages of co-designing learning environments with youth from within the context. The research has led to the development of a tool for artefact analysis, a model for evaluating the viability of learning environments and a model for analyzing design milieux that will be presented in the thesis. The thesis will emphasize the possibilities of using digital storytelling to address sensitive and delicate topics such as HIV and AIDS.
Universal Decimal Classification: 004.414.2, 004.415.2, 37.091.33
Library of Congress Subject Headings: System design; Health education;
Digital storytelling; HIV infections; AIDS (Disease); User-centered system design; Educational technology; Computer-assisted instruction;
Cooperation; Developing countries; Children; Africa
Yleinen suomalainen asiasanasto: systeemityö; osallistava suunnittelu;
yhteissuunnittelu; tarinat; kertomukset; oppimisympäristö;
tietokoneavusteinen opetus; terveyskasvatus; HIV-tartunta; AIDS;
kehitysyhteistyö; lapset; nuoret; Afrikka
Preface and
acknowledgements
If someone had asked me about my dreams when I was younger, my answer would never have included an academic career or doing a PhD study. What it would have included though would be a life journey which would afford me the freedom and possibilities to do the things I like and which I get excited about. After completing my high school career I honestly believed that I was done with studying. A stint working at the conveyor belts in a food manufacturing company provided me with a wakeup call and I realized that it was maybe not such a bad idea to give my future studies some serious thought as some form of qualification would open more doors of opportunity for me. I was still unsure as to what I wanted to study, but I began with some mathematics, followed by electronic engineering where I became interested in Computer Science and I ended up doing a master’s study in Computer Science. Even though I really enjoyed programming, I could not envision myself doing the kind of jobs for which this qualification prepared me. Having been raised in Kenya, and having witnessed the living conditions of some individuals less fortunate than myself, I was always driven to work in an area where I could really make a difference and bring about a positive change in the lives of those people who hail from less privileged contexts.
At the start of my master thesis study I wanted to return to Kenya to do some meaningful research. The study counsellor at Uppsala University, where I was studying at the time, thought that it was a somewhat unconventional idea to do a master’s thesis in Computer Science in Africa, he even questioned me as to whether they have computers there. He did however, although
Preface and
acknowledgements
If someone had asked me about my dreams when I was younger, my answer would never have included an academic career or doing a PhD study. What it would have included though would be a life journey which would afford me the freedom and possibilities to do the things I like and which I get excited about. After completing my high school career I honestly believed that I was done with studying. A stint working at the conveyor belts in a food manufacturing company provided me with a wakeup call and I realized that it was maybe not such a bad idea to give my future studies some serious thought as some form of qualification would open more doors of opportunity for me. I was still unsure as to what I wanted to study, but I began with some mathematics, followed by electronic engineering where I became interested in Computer Science and I ended up doing a master’s study in Computer Science. Even though I really enjoyed programming, I could not envision myself doing the kind of jobs for which this qualification prepared me. Having been raised in Kenya, and having witnessed the living conditions of some individuals less fortunate than myself, I was always driven to work in an area where I could really make a difference and bring about a positive change in the lives of those people who hail from less privileged contexts.
At the start of my master thesis study I wanted to return to Kenya to do some meaningful research. The study counsellor at Uppsala University, where I was studying at the time, thought that it was a somewhat unconventional idea to do a master’s thesis in Computer Science in Africa, he even questioned me as to whether they have computers there. He did however, although
doing research in educational technology at my department in Uppsala University at that time. One of them was Anders Berglund, the first person I wish to thank, as he put me into contact with Erkki Sutinen and the University of Joensuu (now the University of Eastern Finland), and supported the idea of me doing my master’s thesis in Africa.
I contacted Erkki Sutinen and he invited me to visit Joensuu (and very graciously his home as well) so that we could discuss possible themes and content for my master’s thesis. I firstly needed to check the map to ascertain precisely where on earth Joensuu was and then, in the middle of winter, I took a boat across the Baltic Sea, boarded a train from Helsinki to the borderlands of Russia and, almost 24 hours later, I arrived at the doorstep of a wonderful research journey for in Joensuu my eyes were opened to the field of educational technology and the many exciting projects in the field.
Erkki Sutinen was brimming with ideas for my master’s thesis and he also agreed to act as my supervisor. It was decided that I should visit Kidugala, a small rural village in Southern Tanzania, where I would do the bulk of my research. I owe Erkki a great debt of gratitude as he not only visited me in Tanzania during this time but also opened my eyes as to the endless opportunities and exciting things which could be done within the domain of educational technology. His input and guidance has been one of the main reasons why I eventually continued to pursue a PhD at UEF with him as my main supervisor and I cannot thank him enough for his active and energetic interest in my work. Over the years people have joined and people have left the research group at the department and there are many I would like to thank as they have influenced me and have helped me to grow, both personally and professionally: Roman Bednarik, Pasi Eronen, Mikko Vesisenaho, Clint Rogers, Jarkko Suhonen, Ilkka Jormanainen,
The International Network for Postgraduate Students in the area of ICT4D (IPID) afforded me valuable support and insights.
There were other individuals in my department at Joensuu who were interested in ICT4D but, like many other researchers, I sometimes felt isolated in my focus on ICT for development.
Through IPID I was introduced to a large number of students from different countries and backgrounds who shared my curiosity and passion as to how modern technologies can be employed to benefit people in developing regions of the world.
In this regard I especially like to thank Tim Unwin, Ismael Peña- López, Gudrun Wikander and Annika Andersson.
This journey however started much earlier when, at the age of eleven months, my parents first brought me to Africa. My early childhood years, which were spent in Kenya, had a big impact and influence on my choices later in life. I would like to thank my parents for not only always being there and for supporting me but also for opening my eyes, early on in my life, to what a lovely continent Africa really is. The ways we set about it may have been different, but my parents are the ones who taught me the importance of doing something meaningful for or together with people who are less privileged than you and, through living that principle, they showed me how rewarding it can be to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
During my PhD journey I have travelled and worked on different projects in different African countries and this has required extensive funding. I would like to thank those individuals and institutions who have helped me in securing funding for my studies: the School of Computing department at the University of Eastern Finland through various project involvements, the Meraka Institute, the Academy of Finland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland. I would also like to thank the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), and
doing research in educational technology at my department in Uppsala University at that time. One of them was Anders Berglund, the first person I wish to thank, as he put me into contact with Erkki Sutinen and the University of Joensuu (now the University of Eastern Finland), and supported the idea of me doing my master’s thesis in Africa.
I contacted Erkki Sutinen and he invited me to visit Joensuu (and very graciously his home as well) so that we could discuss possible themes and content for my master’s thesis. I firstly needed to check the map to ascertain precisely where on earth Joensuu was and then, in the middle of winter, I took a boat across the Baltic Sea, boarded a train from Helsinki to the borderlands of Russia and, almost 24 hours later, I arrived at the doorstep of a wonderful research journey for in Joensuu my eyes were opened to the field of educational technology and the many exciting projects in the field.
Erkki Sutinen was brimming with ideas for my master’s thesis and he also agreed to act as my supervisor. It was decided that I should visit Kidugala, a small rural village in Southern Tanzania, where I would do the bulk of my research. I owe Erkki a great debt of gratitude as he not only visited me in Tanzania during this time but also opened my eyes as to the endless opportunities and exciting things which could be done within the domain of educational technology. His input and guidance has been one of the main reasons why I eventually continued to pursue a PhD at UEF with him as my main supervisor and I cannot thank him enough for his active and energetic interest in my work. Over the years people have joined and people have left the research group at the department and there are many I would like to thank as they have influenced me and have helped me to grow, both personally and professionally: Roman Bednarik, Pasi Eronen, Mikko Vesisenaho, Clint Rogers, Jarkko Suhonen, Ilkka Jormanainen,
The International Network for Postgraduate Students in the area of ICT4D (IPID) afforded me valuable support and insights.
There were other individuals in my department at Joensuu who were interested in ICT4D but, like many other researchers, I sometimes felt isolated in my focus on ICT for development.
Through IPID I was introduced to a large number of students from different countries and backgrounds who shared my curiosity and passion as to how modern technologies can be employed to benefit people in developing regions of the world.
In this regard I especially like to thank Tim Unwin, Ismael Peña- López, Gudrun Wikander and Annika Andersson.
This journey however started much earlier when, at the age of eleven months, my parents first brought me to Africa. My early childhood years, which were spent in Kenya, had a big impact and influence on my choices later in life. I would like to thank my parents for not only always being there and for supporting me but also for opening my eyes, early on in my life, to what a lovely continent Africa really is. The ways we set about it may have been different, but my parents are the ones who taught me the importance of doing something meaningful for or together with people who are less privileged than you and, through living that principle, they showed me how rewarding it can be to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
During my PhD journey I have travelled and worked on different projects in different African countries and this has required extensive funding. I would like to thank those individuals and institutions who have helped me in securing funding for my studies: the School of Computing department at the University of Eastern Finland through various project involvements, the Meraka Institute, the Academy of Finland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland. I would also like to thank the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), and
platform for HIV and AIDS education - an experience which later evolved to form the core of this PhD study. During my work on the HIV and AIDS platform I was also afforded the opportunity to collaborate closely with my Tanzanian friend, Christian Mwamanga. I would like to thank him warmly for his great help with this project and for being my close friend since we first met in 2002.
As I am a bit of a nomad and tend to move around between the northern and southern hemisphere, it has been very convenient that my co-supervisor, Johannes Cronje, resides in South Africa.
Even though I have not always used his proximity to my academic advantage, I would like to thank him for his guidance, for challenging me and for making me feel welcome in his research group at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). I am also grateful for the contributions by the language fairy Estee Wiese that helped in making the thesis more readable.
The persons that have arguably contributed the most towards this PhD are all the students and young people that I have had the privilege to work with on different projects. Without their collaboration and enthusiastic active participation, there surely would not have been much to report upon in this thesis! It has been wonderful to work with students in Africa who, according to my experiences, have a hunger to learn more about new technologies (from this foreigner) and who really want to be included in the new globalised world of which they might have heard but to which they have only been marginally exposed.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my travel companion/girlfriend/fiancée/wife Heidi Assumption/Duveskog for her amazing support. She has given me space (when I needed it), help (when I needed it) and she has patiently
Cape Town, December 16, 2014 Marcus Duveskog
platform for HIV and AIDS education - an experience which later evolved to form the core of this PhD study. During my work on the HIV and AIDS platform I was also afforded the opportunity to collaborate closely with my Tanzanian friend, Christian Mwamanga. I would like to thank him warmly for his great help with this project and for being my close friend since we first met in 2002.
As I am a bit of a nomad and tend to move around between the northern and southern hemisphere, it has been very convenient that my co-supervisor, Johannes Cronje, resides in South Africa.
Even though I have not always used his proximity to my academic advantage, I would like to thank him for his guidance, for challenging me and for making me feel welcome in his research group at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). I am also grateful for the contributions by the language fairy Estee Wiese that helped in making the thesis more readable.
The persons that have arguably contributed the most towards this PhD are all the students and young people that I have had the privilege to work with on different projects. Without their collaboration and enthusiastic active participation, there surely would not have been much to report upon in this thesis! It has been wonderful to work with students in Africa who, according to my experiences, have a hunger to learn more about new technologies (from this foreigner) and who really want to be included in the new globalised world of which they might have heard but to which they have only been marginally exposed.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my travel companion/girlfriend/fiancée/wife Heidi Assumption/Duveskog for her amazing support. She has given me space (when I needed it), help (when I needed it) and she has patiently
Cape Town, December 16, 2014 Marcus Duveskog
AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome ARV Anti-retroviral drugs
CATI A model for technology transfer (Contextualize, Apply, Transfer, Import)
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research EEPD Empowering Education Processing Diaconia FELM Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission
FODEM Method for developing digital learning environments (FOrmative DEvelopment Method)
GDP Gross Domestic Product
HIV Human immunodeficiency virus
ICT Information and communication technology
ICT4D Information and communication technology for development
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IMPDET-LE International Multidisciplinary PhD Studies in Educational Technology and Learning Environments IPID The International Network for Post-graduate Students
in the area of ICT4D IT Information Technology LWF Lutheran World Federation
m-CADE Multilayered Framework for Compiling Digital artefacts by Extension
NGO Non-governmental organisation OLPC One Laptop per Child association
STIFIMO Programme for Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation between Finland and Mozambique TEDC International Workshop on Technology for Education
in Developing Countries UEF University of Eastern Finland UKIMWI Swahili abbreviation for AIDS YESA Young Engineers of South Africa
This thesis is based on data presented in the following articles, referred to by the Roman numerals I–VI.
I Duveskog, M., Vesisenaho, M., Randolph, J., & Sutinen, E.
(2010). Beyond taboos: Expressing HIV/AIDS attitudes through contextualized learning technology. In World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (Vol. 2010, No. 1, pp. 68–
73).
II Bada, J., Duveskog, M., Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2009).
Towards viable technology for HIV/AIDS education. In P.
Cunningham, & M. Cunningham (Eds.), IST-Africa 2009 Conference Proceedings. IIMC International Information Management Corporation. ISBN: 978-1-905824-11-3.
III Duveskog, M., Kemppainen, K., Bednarik, R., & Sutinen, E.
(2009). Designing a story-based platform for HIV and AIDS counseling with Tanzanian children. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 27–35). ACM.
IV Duveskog, M., Tedre, M., Sedano, C. I., & Sutinen, E. (2012).
Life planning by digital storytelling in a primary school in rural Tanzania. Educational Technology & Society, 15(4), 225–237.
V Duveskog, M., & Sutinen, E. (2013). Enriching student HIV awareness by digital storytelling. In Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 22(4), 229–252.
AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome ARV Anti-retroviral drugs
CATI A model for technology transfer (Contextualize, Apply, Transfer, Import)
CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research EEPD Empowering Education Processing Diaconia FELM Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission
FODEM Method for developing digital learning environments (FOrmative DEvelopment Method)
GDP Gross Domestic Product
HIV Human immunodeficiency virus
ICT Information and communication technology
ICT4D Information and communication technology for development
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IMPDET-LE International Multidisciplinary PhD Studies in Educational Technology and Learning Environments IPID The International Network for Post-graduate Students
in the area of ICT4D IT Information Technology LWF Lutheran World Federation
m-CADE Multilayered Framework for Compiling Digital artefacts by Extension
NGO Non-governmental organisation OLPC One Laptop per Child association
STIFIMO Programme for Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation between Finland and Mozambique TEDC International Workshop on Technology for Education
in Developing Countries UEF University of Eastern Finland UKIMWI Swahili abbreviation for AIDS YESA Young Engineers of South Africa
This thesis is based on data presented in the following articles, referred to by the Roman numerals I–VI.
I Duveskog, M., Vesisenaho, M., Randolph, J., & Sutinen, E.
(2010). Beyond taboos: Expressing HIV/AIDS attitudes through contextualized learning technology. In World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (Vol. 2010, No. 1, pp. 68–
73).
II Bada, J., Duveskog, M., Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2009).
Towards viable technology for HIV/AIDS education. In P.
Cunningham, & M. Cunningham (Eds.), IST-Africa 2009 Conference Proceedings. IIMC International Information Management Corporation. ISBN: 978-1-905824-11-3.
III Duveskog, M., Kemppainen, K., Bednarik, R., & Sutinen, E.
(2009). Designing a story-based platform for HIV and AIDS counseling with Tanzanian children. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (pp. 27–35). ACM.
IV Duveskog, M., Tedre, M., Sedano, C. I., & Sutinen, E. (2012).
Life planning by digital storytelling in a primary school in rural Tanzania. Educational Technology & Society, 15(4), 225–237.
V Duveskog, M., & Sutinen, E. (2013). Enriching student HIV awareness by digital storytelling. In Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 22(4), 229–252.
British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(4), 581–594.
The above publications have been included at the end of this thesis with their copyright holders’ permission.
All of the papers were written with or under the supervision of the main supervisor, Prof. Erkki Sutinen. With paper (IV) the second supervisor, Prof. Johannes Cronje, also assisted in the researcher through his contributions and supervision.
I The author of this dissertation is the main writer of this paper that is based on the outcomes of a programming course that the author presented to students in rural Tanzania. The data analysed in this paper was collected and/or recorded by the author during the actual teaching sessions in Tanzania. The development of the tool for artefact analysis was a joint effort between all the writers.
II The author is the second writer of the paper which elaborates on the viability and transferability of the Sura ya UKIMWI platform for other contexts. The paper and the analysis was a joint effort between all the authors. As the paper dealt with the possibility of transferring Sura ya UKIMWI, the platform which the author had developed in conjunction with young people in Tanzania, into other contexts, his contributions were major. In this paper we specifically investigated the possibility of re-using the platform in the Ugandan context and the first author, Joseph Bada, contributed the context analysis for Uganda.
III The author is the first writer of and the main contributor to this paper. The paper explains how Sura ya UKIMWI was developed in accordance with participatory design principles.
The paper is based on records and observations made by the author but the co-writers assisted in presenting the work and contributing to the background and presentation of the paper.
IV The author is the first writer of and the main contributor to this paper. The paper is based on a digital storytelling workshop presented by the first and the third author, Carolina
British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(4), 581–594.
The above publications have been included at the end of this thesis with their copyright holders’ permission.
All of the papers were written with or under the supervision of the main supervisor, Prof. Erkki Sutinen. With paper (IV) the second supervisor, Prof. Johannes Cronje, also assisted in the researcher through his contributions and supervision.
I The author of this dissertation is the main writer of this paper that is based on the outcomes of a programming course that the author presented to students in rural Tanzania. The data analysed in this paper was collected and/or recorded by the author during the actual teaching sessions in Tanzania. The development of the tool for artefact analysis was a joint effort between all the writers.
II The author is the second writer of the paper which elaborates on the viability and transferability of the Sura ya UKIMWI platform for other contexts. The paper and the analysis was a joint effort between all the authors. As the paper dealt with the possibility of transferring Sura ya UKIMWI, the platform which the author had developed in conjunction with young people in Tanzania, into other contexts, his contributions were major. In this paper we specifically investigated the possibility of re-using the platform in the Ugandan context and the first author, Joseph Bada, contributed the context analysis for Uganda.
III The author is the first writer of and the main contributor to this paper. The paper explains how Sura ya UKIMWI was developed in accordance with participatory design principles.
The paper is based on records and observations made by the author but the co-writers assisted in presenting the work and contributing to the background and presentation of the paper.
IV The author is the first writer of and the main contributor to this paper. The paper is based on a digital storytelling workshop presented by the first and the third author, Carolina
In this analysis traditional storytelling is compared to digital storytelling. The main author was also the main contributor but received significant help from the co-writers.
V This paper was written in conjunction with the main supervisor, Prof. Erkki Sutinen. The author is the first writer and main contributor. The paper is based on the work carried out by the author during his development of Sura ya UKIMWI in Tanzania. The paper is based on the paper ‘Enriching student HIV stories by the use of Technology’ that was awarded an
‘Outstanding paper award’ at the ED-MEDIA 2009 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia &
Telecommunications in Honolulu, Hawaii (Duveskog, 2009).
VI The author is the first writer of and the main contributor to this paper which was written in conjunction with both the main and second supervisor. The paper is based on the research done at five different design milieux where the author was either the driving force or in which he was extensively involved.
Contents
1 Introduction ... 1
1.1 Research questions to be addressed in this thesis ... 11
1.2 Key concepts ... 11
2 Literature review ... 15
2.1 HIV and AIDS ... 16
2.2 Transferability ... 23
2.3 Participatory design ... 24
2.4 Storytelling ... 26
2.5 Design milieu ... 29
3 Research design ... 35
3.1 Research context... 35
Sura ya UKIMWI, Iringa, Tanzania ... 37
Working for my dreams, Ukombozi Primary School, Tanzania ... 38
Jali Maisha project, Kidugala Secondary School, Tanzania ... 40
Contextualized course design, Tumaini University, Iringa Tanzania 41 TekkiKids, Mereka Institute, Pretoria, South Africa ... 43
3.2 Relevance of papers for Research questions and thesis ... 44
3.3 Methodology ... 46
4 Findings ... 55
5 Discussion ... 69
6 Conclusion ... 73
References ... 79
Appendix: Original publications ... 89
In this analysis traditional storytelling is compared to digital storytelling. The main author was also the main contributor but received significant help from the co-writers.
V This paper was written in conjunction with the main supervisor, Prof. Erkki Sutinen. The author is the first writer and main contributor. The paper is based on the work carried out by the author during his development of Sura ya UKIMWI in Tanzania. The paper is based on the paper ‘Enriching student HIV stories by the use of Technology’ that was awarded an
‘Outstanding paper award’ at the ED-MEDIA 2009 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia &
Telecommunications in Honolulu, Hawaii (Duveskog, 2009).
VI The author is the first writer of and the main contributor to this paper which was written in conjunction with both the main and second supervisor. The paper is based on the research done at five different design milieux where the author was either the driving force or in which he was extensively involved.
Contents
1 Introduction ... 1
1.1 Research questions to be addressed in this thesis ... 11
1.2 Key concepts ... 11
2 Literature review ... 15
2.1 HIV and AIDS ... 16
2.2 Transferability ... 23
2.3 Participatory design ... 24
2.4 Storytelling ... 26
2.5 Design milieu ... 29
3 Research design ... 35
3.1 Research context... 35
Sura ya UKIMWI, Iringa, Tanzania ... 37
Working for my dreams, Ukombozi Primary School, Tanzania ... 38
Jali Maisha project, Kidugala Secondary School, Tanzania ... 40
Contextualized course design, Tumaini University, Iringa Tanzania 41 TekkiKids, Mereka Institute, Pretoria, South Africa ... 43
3.2 Relevance of papers for Research questions and thesis ... 44
3.3 Methodology ... 46
4 Findings ... 55
5 Discussion ... 69
6 Conclusion ... 73
References ... 79
Appendix: Original publications ... 89
Figure 1. Map of Southern Africa and the author’s travels there in ... 7
Figure 2. Illustration depicting the size of Africa in relation to other parts of the world. ... 8
Figure 3. The top picture shows the percentage of people living under the poverty threshold and the bottom picture shows the prevalence of HIV ... 9
Figure 4. A selection of pictures from the ‘Sura ya UKIMWI’ project . 38 Figure 5. Selected pictures from the Dream Workshop at Ukombozi Primary School ... 39
Figure 6. A selection of photos from Kidugala Secondary School ... 41
Figure 7. Selected photos from milieu 2 in paper (V) ... 42
Figure 8. Selected photos from milieu 3 in paper (V) ... 44
Figure 9. The connection between the milieu, design process and the science knowledge base in design science ... 48
Figure 10: The cyclical approach followed during the workshop ... 52
Figure 11. Graphical representation of the levels as regards tools, process and product for the analysed artefacts ... 56
Figure 12. The discovered pillars required for association ... 63
Figure 13. The scoring options for each indicator ... 66
Table 1: Overview of the five research contexts included in the thesis . 36 Table 2: Shows the links between the papers and the research questions ... 44
Table 3: Shows how the m-CADE was combined with Bloom’s taxonomy for the evaluation of artefacts ... 56
Table 4: CATI Model in the Transformation of Sura ya UKIMWI ... 58
Table 5: Traditional Storytelling and Digital Storytelling: Pedagogical Advantages ... 60
Table 6: Traditional Storytelling and Digital Storytelling: Disadvantages ... 61
Table 7: Scoring code book for scoring of design milieu and intervention ... 67
Figure 1. Map of Southern Africa and the author’s travels there in ... 7
Figure 2. Illustration depicting the size of Africa in relation to other parts of the world. ... 8
Figure 3. The top picture shows the percentage of people living under the poverty threshold and the bottom picture shows the prevalence of HIV ... 9
Figure 4. A selection of pictures from the ‘Sura ya UKIMWI’ project . 38 Figure 5. Selected pictures from the Dream Workshop at Ukombozi Primary School ... 39
Figure 6. A selection of photos from Kidugala Secondary School ... 41
Figure 7. Selected photos from milieu 2 in paper (V) ... 42
Figure 8. Selected photos from milieu 3 in paper (V) ... 44
Figure 9. The connection between the milieu, design process and the science knowledge base in design science ... 48
Figure 10: The cyclical approach followed during the workshop ... 52
Figure 11. Graphical representation of the levels as regards tools, process and product for the analysed artefacts ... 56
Figure 12. The discovered pillars required for association ... 63
Figure 13. The scoring options for each indicator ... 66
Table 1: Overview of the five research contexts included in the thesis . 36 Table 2: Shows the links between the papers and the research questions ... 44
Table 3: Shows how the m-CADE was combined with Bloom’s taxonomy for the evaluation of artefacts ... 56
Table 4: CATI Model in the Transformation of Sura ya UKIMWI ... 58
Table 5: Traditional Storytelling and Digital Storytelling: Pedagogical Advantages ... 60
Table 6: Traditional Storytelling and Digital Storytelling: Disadvantages ... 61
Table 7: Scoring code book for scoring of design milieu and intervention ... 67
1 Introduction
While I have been advised to start my research where the literature ends, I have rather chosen to undertake a more anthropological minded journey. This approach has prompted me to live close to youth, people and communities in order to work with them and learn from them and consequently to build my theories and assumptions based on real life experiences and intuition rather than using literature as the starting point of this research work. One of the main reasons for choosing this approach is that I detected a gap between academic reports and the real life situations and experiences which I personally observed. Computer Science academic reports tend to focus on technical aspects and do not place enough emphasis on the context itself or the individuals within the context. In contrast, I find it more interesting and rewarding to use the context and the people within the context as a starting point from which to launch my enquiry into how technology can or should be applied to benefit the people within that context.
The research presented in this thesis is a combination of different attempts and approaches to find and forge novel ways of using technology to help solve problems and challenges faced by ordinary people. The focus has been on technology in education for the youth in which young learners have been encouraged to find uses for technology (including programming, computers and mobile phones) to directly benefit their personal situation and/or the situation of their community.
My research journey has been a rather long and epic passage, dynamic in its very nature. My original ideas and thoughts have evolved and changed along the way as I became involved in new projects which opened up interesting and brand new research possibilities. The main body of research, which is
1 Introduction
While I have been advised to start my research where the literature ends, I have rather chosen to undertake a more anthropological minded journey. This approach has prompted me to live close to youth, people and communities in order to work with them and learn from them and consequently to build my theories and assumptions based on real life experiences and intuition rather than using literature as the starting point of this research work. One of the main reasons for choosing this approach is that I detected a gap between academic reports and the real life situations and experiences which I personally observed. Computer Science academic reports tend to focus on technical aspects and do not place enough emphasis on the context itself or the individuals within the context. In contrast, I find it more interesting and rewarding to use the context and the people within the context as a starting point from which to launch my enquiry into how technology can or should be applied to benefit the people within that context.
The research presented in this thesis is a combination of different attempts and approaches to find and forge novel ways of using technology to help solve problems and challenges faced by ordinary people. The focus has been on technology in education for the youth in which young learners have been encouraged to find uses for technology (including programming, computers and mobile phones) to directly benefit their personal situation and/or the situation of their community.
My research journey has been a rather long and epic passage, dynamic in its very nature. My original ideas and thoughts have evolved and changed along the way as I became involved in new projects which opened up interesting and brand new research possibilities. The main body of research, which is
presented in this thesis, was conducted in Tanzania. However, I also draw conclusions based on my research experiences in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Zambia.
This journey of discovery started in 2002 when I travelled to Tanzania to do research for my master’s thesis which was based on the introduction of programming to students at a rural secondary school in the Southern highlands of Tanzania (Duveskog, 2004). During a period of almost three months I lived close to the students which afforded me valuable insights into their everyday life, thoughts, dreams and culture. I made many new friends, a few of which have remained my close friends till today. Paper (I) and (VI) of the thesis draw on the experiences gained in this period.
In the years 2003 to 2006 I did part-time work as a research assistant, primarily involved with the design and development of a contextualised programming course for Tumaini University.
During this process I did a significant part of the course design, teaching and the implementation of the programming course at Tumaini University which was later reported upon by Mikko Vesisenaho in his PhD thesis (Vesisenaho, 2007). Conclusions from this research study are partly dealt with in paper (VI).
During 2005 and 2006 I was involved in ICT training for teachers and the consequent integration of ICT in teaching at The College of Business Education in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In 2006 I acted as conference secretary for the 4th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Workshop on Technology for Education in Developing Countries (TEDC) which was a joint effort between Tumaini University and the Department of Computer Science1 of the then University of Joensuu2. Although this thesis does not communicate the details of these experiences, they nevertheless
1 The current name of the department is School of Computing.
2 University of Joensuu merged with University of Kuopio in 2010 to form the University of Eastern Finland.
provided me with important knowledge and understanding regarding the challenges faced by higher educational institutions in developing countries. Lessons learnt were, amongst others, the impact of a lack of previous exposure to computers in the case of both students and staff. In many cases we had to start with the very basics, for instance explaining how to use a mouse and keyboard. The undeniable gap between the actual ICT literacy skills taught at the college compared to the ICT knowledge which students were expected to have in order to secure employment after completing their studies became clear to me. I was also exposed to the fears which teachers and staff harbour regarding technology, fears which need to be addressed when one is trying to integrate ICT into teaching and administrative practices. Another interesting eye-opener was the importance afforded to status and status symbols, in so far that it sometimes seemed as if the status connected to having technology in the office seemed to far outweigh being able to use the technology.
All the activities up to this point, apart from my master’s thesis, were executed through the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) with the express intention of gathering enough research material to launch my own PhD studies. At the end of 2006 I finally obtained my master’s degree and subsequently enrolled as a PhD student in the International Multidisciplinary PhD Studies in Educational Technology at the University of Joensuu.
At this time I was offered a research grant to work for the Meraka Institute at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria for one year to help them start up technology clubs, named TekkiKids, in South Africa. Originally this experience was meant to form the core research body of this PhD. When I joined the project it had, however, already been launched and the parties involved had quite definite ideas on how it should be run. I felt that the TekkiKids project did not provide me with the kind of environment where I could freely test my own ideas, an important pre-requisite for any PhD, in that I had to facilitate that which had already been planned by others. In retrospective, I would have preferred the experiences,
presented in this thesis, was conducted in Tanzania. However, I also draw conclusions based on my research experiences in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Zambia.
This journey of discovery started in 2002 when I travelled to Tanzania to do research for my master’s thesis which was based on the introduction of programming to students at a rural secondary school in the Southern highlands of Tanzania (Duveskog, 2004). During a period of almost three months I lived close to the students which afforded me valuable insights into their everyday life, thoughts, dreams and culture. I made many new friends, a few of which have remained my close friends till today. Paper (I) and (VI) of the thesis draw on the experiences gained in this period.
In the years 2003 to 2006 I did part-time work as a research assistant, primarily involved with the design and development of a contextualised programming course for Tumaini University.
During this process I did a significant part of the course design, teaching and the implementation of the programming course at Tumaini University which was later reported upon by Mikko Vesisenaho in his PhD thesis (Vesisenaho, 2007). Conclusions from this research study are partly dealt with in paper (VI).
During 2005 and 2006 I was involved in ICT training for teachers and the consequent integration of ICT in teaching at The College of Business Education in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In 2006 I acted as conference secretary for the 4th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Workshop on Technology for Education in Developing Countries (TEDC) which was a joint effort between Tumaini University and the Department of Computer Science1 of the then University of Joensuu2. Although this thesis does not communicate the details of these experiences, they nevertheless
1 The current name of the department is School of Computing.
2 University of Joensuu merged with University of Kuopio in 2010 to form the University of Eastern Finland.
provided me with important knowledge and understanding regarding the challenges faced by higher educational institutions in developing countries. Lessons learnt were, amongst others, the impact of a lack of previous exposure to computers in the case of both students and staff. In many cases we had to start with the very basics, for instance explaining how to use a mouse and keyboard. The undeniable gap between the actual ICT literacy skills taught at the college compared to the ICT knowledge which students were expected to have in order to secure employment after completing their studies became clear to me. I was also exposed to the fears which teachers and staff harbour regarding technology, fears which need to be addressed when one is trying to integrate ICT into teaching and administrative practices. Another interesting eye-opener was the importance afforded to status and status symbols, in so far that it sometimes seemed as if the status connected to having technology in the office seemed to far outweigh being able to use the technology.
All the activities up to this point, apart from my master’s thesis, were executed through the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) with the express intention of gathering enough research material to launch my own PhD studies. At the end of 2006 I finally obtained my master’s degree and subsequently enrolled as a PhD student in the International Multidisciplinary PhD Studies in Educational Technology at the University of Joensuu.
At this time I was offered a research grant to work for the Meraka Institute at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria for one year to help them start up technology clubs, named TekkiKids, in South Africa. Originally this experience was meant to form the core research body of this PhD. When I joined the project it had, however, already been launched and the parties involved had quite definite ideas on how it should be run. I felt that the TekkiKids project did not provide me with the kind of environment where I could freely test my own ideas, an important pre-requisite for any PhD, in that I had to facilitate that which had already been planned by others. In retrospective, I would have preferred the experiences,
backgrounds and ideas of the learners to take central stage in the facilitation of the TekkiKids activities. Despite it having been a great learning experience for both myself and the youth involved, it could be deemed as more analysing in character as opposed to the shaping of own ideas and frameworks. A part of this research experience is however dealt with in paper (VI).
In 2008 I started to work on the Empowering Education Processing Diaconia (EEPD) project. EEPD was a HIV and AIDS counselling project that, amongst other things, was involved in:
starting a counselling programme for students at Tumaini University in Iringa, creating support groups at hospitals and offering micro credits (interest free small loans) to infected women. My task in the project was to develop a digital platform for HIV and AIDS counselling for the youth in Tanzania. I was given free reigns as to the development of this platform and this experience afforded me the opportunity to test my own ideas and development approaches which, in turn, came to form the core of this PhD. The platform, which was developed in conjunction with Tanzanian youth, was named in Swahili Sura ya UKIMWI which translates as The Face of AIDS. The research carried out in this project is dealt with in papers (III) and (V) and also partly in papers (II) and (VI).
In late 2009 a two week workshop was organised at Ukombozi primary school in Iringa, Tanzania. This workshop, named Working for my dreams, took the form of a digital storytelling experiment and was carried out in a one-to-one computing setting among primary school children. During the workshop we used XO-1 laptops which had been provided to the school by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Association. In the course of the workshop students designed digitally woven stories and hypercontextualized games (Sedano, 2012), related to their dreams and aspirations, in which they had to reflect upon life choices and issues related to HIV and AIDS. The research presented in paper (IV) was carried out as a result of this workshop.
During the period 2011 to 2012 I aided in the founding of technology clubs and conducted Kids’ Club training in Maputu, Tete and Nampula in Mozambique through the Programme of Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation between Finland and Mozambique (STIFIMO). STIFIMO focuses on capacity building on different levels and in various areas of science, technology and innovation. The first Kids’ Club was started at the University of Joensuu in 2001. The concept of the Kids’ Club is to create an environment in which researchers in educational technology can actively support young people using various kinds of technology in creative an innovative ways. The Kids’ Club training in Mozambique included workshops on robotics, programming and digital storytelling. The training was conducted for students and teachers at primary and secondary schools, technical colleges and universities. This was an enriching and educational experience which, although it is not directly covered in the thesis, was useful and helpful as it facilitated a better understanding of the different conditions in which people are living, studying and working within developing contexts and has afforded me a better insight into the opportunities and challenges facing ICT integration in the context of developing countries in Southern Africa. The work with the Kids’ Clubs in Mozambique gifted me with the opportunity to work with teachers and students from a wide range of educational backgrounds and this in turn afforded me a balanced insight into ICT integration, or the lack thereof, in the Mozambican educational system. One of the primary schools in which we were working lacked basic resources such as chairs and desks and the children were taught in big groups whilst sitting on the floor. This raised certain ethical issues concerning the introduction of high end technology into settings that lack the very basic amenities. Working closely with the Ministry of Science and Technology also provided a good grasp of the possibilities and challenges faced when aiming to convert good ideas into real life practice in schools at ministerial level.
In the beginning of 2012 I was invited by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to work with a youth group at LWF in
backgrounds and ideas of the learners to take central stage in the facilitation of the TekkiKids activities. Despite it having been a great learning experience for both myself and the youth involved, it could be deemed as more analysing in character as opposed to the shaping of own ideas and frameworks. A part of this research experience is however dealt with in paper (VI).
In 2008 I started to work on the Empowering Education Processing Diaconia (EEPD) project. EEPD was a HIV and AIDS counselling project that, amongst other things, was involved in:
starting a counselling programme for students at Tumaini University in Iringa, creating support groups at hospitals and offering micro credits (interest free small loans) to infected women. My task in the project was to develop a digital platform for HIV and AIDS counselling for the youth in Tanzania. I was given free reigns as to the development of this platform and this experience afforded me the opportunity to test my own ideas and development approaches which, in turn, came to form the core of this PhD. The platform, which was developed in conjunction with Tanzanian youth, was named in Swahili Sura ya UKIMWI which translates as The Face of AIDS. The research carried out in this project is dealt with in papers (III) and (V) and also partly in papers (II) and (VI).
In late 2009 a two week workshop was organised at Ukombozi primary school in Iringa, Tanzania. This workshop, named Working for my dreams, took the form of a digital storytelling experiment and was carried out in a one-to-one computing setting among primary school children. During the workshop we used XO-1 laptops which had been provided to the school by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Association. In the course of the workshop students designed digitally woven stories and hypercontextualized games (Sedano, 2012), related to their dreams and aspirations, in which they had to reflect upon life choices and issues related to HIV and AIDS. The research presented in paper (IV) was carried out as a result of this workshop.
During the period 2011 to 2012 I aided in the founding of technology clubs and conducted Kids’ Club training in Maputu, Tete and Nampula in Mozambique through the Programme of Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation between Finland and Mozambique (STIFIMO). STIFIMO focuses on capacity building on different levels and in various areas of science, technology and innovation. The first Kids’ Club was started at the University of Joensuu in 2001. The concept of the Kids’ Club is to create an environment in which researchers in educational technology can actively support young people using various kinds of technology in creative an innovative ways. The Kids’ Club training in Mozambique included workshops on robotics, programming and digital storytelling. The training was conducted for students and teachers at primary and secondary schools, technical colleges and universities. This was an enriching and educational experience which, although it is not directly covered in the thesis, was useful and helpful as it facilitated a better understanding of the different conditions in which people are living, studying and working within developing contexts and has afforded me a better insight into the opportunities and challenges facing ICT integration in the context of developing countries in Southern Africa. The work with the Kids’ Clubs in Mozambique gifted me with the opportunity to work with teachers and students from a wide range of educational backgrounds and this in turn afforded me a balanced insight into ICT integration, or the lack thereof, in the Mozambican educational system. One of the primary schools in which we were working lacked basic resources such as chairs and desks and the children were taught in big groups whilst sitting on the floor. This raised certain ethical issues concerning the introduction of high end technology into settings that lack the very basic amenities. Working closely with the Ministry of Science and Technology also provided a good grasp of the possibilities and challenges faced when aiming to convert good ideas into real life practice in schools at ministerial level.
In the beginning of 2012 I was invited by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to work with a youth group at LWF in
Maputo. The aim of the workshop was to test the possibility of re-contextualising the Sura ya UKIMWI platform for use in Mozambique. During the eight day workshop the participants created one digital story in Portuguese. Later on an Android version of the story was also generated. The experiences lived during and the lessons learnt from the workshop are briefly mentioned in paper (V) and also relate to paper (II) which deals with the possibility of re-contextualizing Sura ya UKIMWI for other contexts.
During 2012 I worked on a collaborative project between the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and the University of Eldoret which dealt with ICT integration in forestry education at the University of Eldoret. One of the tasks was to design an educational forestry game for Android devices in conjunction with the students. The development of this game, called EntVenture (Duveskog et al., 2013), does not form part of this thesis but was nevertheless a useful learning experience in my PhD journey. At the end of 2013 I once again became involved in a developmental project to create a new Android game together with students from the University of Eldoret. This game, Eucalyps, which is narrative based, is still being developed. Its aim is to educate the youth about the importance of forests and the need to conserve them.
Figure 1. Map of Southern Africa and the author’s travels there in
The research, as reported on in the thesis, mainly took place in South Africa and Tanzania with the majority of the research originating from Tanzania. I have however, during my research tenure, also gained valuable experiences from many other Southern African countries as illustrated in Figure 1. Whenever one talks of Africa in general terms, one will do well to remember that it is a vastly large continent as illustrated in Figure 2. It is also a very diverse continent which is home to more than a thousand different ethnic groups who (mostly) have their own languages as well. Africa is made up of almost 60 countries and there are significant cultural and geographical differences across the continent. With this said, there are also several similarities between many of the countries. All countries in Southern Africa for instance have a high HIV and AIDS prevalence rate with a crucial part of the population living under the poverty threshold (refer to Figure 3). Most of these countries are rich in natural resources and have a GDP growth rate of about 5.5% which is high when compared to the rest of the world (IMF, 2013). Based on my own experiences of living, working and travelling in Southern Africa, I sometimes refer to Africa in general terms, as in the title of the thesis. Any general conclusions made in the thesis are, to a large extent, based on
Maputo. The aim of the workshop was to test the possibility of re-contextualising the Sura ya UKIMWI platform for use in Mozambique. During the eight day workshop the participants created one digital story in Portuguese. Later on an Android version of the story was also generated. The experiences lived during and the lessons learnt from the workshop are briefly mentioned in paper (V) and also relate to paper (II) which deals with the possibility of re-contextualizing Sura ya UKIMWI for other contexts.
During 2012 I worked on a collaborative project between the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and the University of Eldoret which dealt with ICT integration in forestry education at the University of Eldoret. One of the tasks was to design an educational forestry game for Android devices in conjunction with the students. The development of this game, called EntVenture (Duveskog et al., 2013), does not form part of this thesis but was nevertheless a useful learning experience in my PhD journey. At the end of 2013 I once again became involved in a developmental project to create a new Android game together with students from the University of Eldoret. This game, Eucalyps, which is narrative based, is still being developed. Its aim is to educate the youth about the importance of forests and the need to conserve them.
Figure 1. Map of Southern Africa and the author’s travels there in
The research, as reported on in the thesis, mainly took place in South Africa and Tanzania with the majority of the research originating from Tanzania. I have however, during my research tenure, also gained valuable experiences from many other Southern African countries as illustrated in Figure 1. Whenever one talks of Africa in general terms, one will do well to remember that it is a vastly large continent as illustrated in Figure 2. It is also a very diverse continent which is home to more than a thousand different ethnic groups who (mostly) have their own languages as well. Africa is made up of almost 60 countries and there are significant cultural and geographical differences across the continent. With this said, there are also several similarities between many of the countries. All countries in Southern Africa for instance have a high HIV and AIDS prevalence rate with a crucial part of the population living under the poverty threshold (refer to Figure 3). Most of these countries are rich in natural resources and have a GDP growth rate of about 5.5% which is high when compared to the rest of the world (IMF, 2013). Based on my own experiences of living, working and travelling in Southern Africa, I sometimes refer to Africa in general terms, as in the title of the thesis. Any general conclusions made in the thesis are, to a large extent, based on
experiences gained of the countries and contexts in which I have visited and worked.
Figure 2. Illustration depicting the size of Africa in relation to other parts of the world. Source: flowingdata.com/2010/10/18/true-size-of-africa/
Figure 3. The top picture shows the percentage of people living under the poverty threshold and the bottom picture shows the prevalence of HIV (source: UNDP and UNAIDS)
Africa, as I have come to know it during the past twelve years, is a rapidly changing continent which is perfectly suited to development related research and then especially research regarding the role of technology for development. When I started with research towards my master’s thesis in 2002, the level of ICT literacy was very low in Tanzania. Not many people had access to computers and mobile coverage was still very limited. Internet users were estimated at 0,2% in 2002 but this number grew to 13,1 % in 2013. Mobile phone subscribers increased from 2% to 57% during the same period (Worldbank, 2014). Previously, anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) were only deemed for use by the rich and privileged and becoming infected with HIV was seen as a hopeless death sentence but that has changed. Today there is real hope for someone who has contracted HIV as ARVs are becoming readily available, even to poorer individuals living in rural settings.
